The present invention is a pollution free, closed cycle, hydraulic-turbine heat engine which operates readily from any environmentally available or created relative heat source or temperature differential, for example from solar or geothermal energy, to generate useful mechanical or electrical energy. It is especially adapted to operate as an individual unit for homes or small factories.
A number of heat engines, which operate from occuring or created heat sources, have been proposed in the past. Typically, these involve a high pressure, high velocity heat exchange cycle, in which a refrigerant having a boiling point lower than the heat source is placed into heat exchange relationship with the heat source and evaporated in a high pressure closed chamber. The vapor, under pressure, is directed through a high speed gas turbine to generate electricity.
In addition to the operating hazards of high pressure steam or gas, engines of this type usually require a substantial heat input and substantial temperature differentials (between various phases of the cycle) to operate efficiently. The high throughput of vapor needed to operate the turbine necessitates complicated piping and ducting, as well as the associated pumps, safety valves, and other such regulatory equipment. This renders such engines impractical, from both space and cost standpoints, for all but high output commercial applications.
Also, variable heat source and heat sink temperatures can cause these systems to operate inefficiently, or, with too great a temperature variance, can render them inoperable. Engines of this type possess no inherent energy storing capabilities, and without separate accommodation, they operate only so long as a heat input is maintained. Thus, although theoretically adaptable to a variety of heat energy sources, as a practical matter most heat engines are unsuitable for all but a limited number of applications, and particularly, to large temperature differentials of controlled, steady heat sources. These cost and performance drawbacks render most heat engines or power generation systems using heat engines impractical for an individual home or small factory, or other such applications requiring modest but steady and reliable power output.